Self-harm behavior and health across the lifecourse: Insights from the emergency department by Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Seminar Abstract

Suicide mortality in the United States has risen steadily over the past fifteen years to become the tenth leading cause of death. Nonfatal self-harm behavior (the strongest risk factor for suicide) has increased concomitantly, particularly among adolescents. Efforts to turn this lethal tide are ongoing, although it is likely that only a sustained and multi-pronged public health response will reduce the toll. Healthcare settings such as emergency departments (EDs) are increasingly seen as playing an important role in this response, yet fundamental questions about the role of EDs in identifying and caring for potentially suicidal individuals remain unanswered. Which ED patients are at highest risk for suicide? Is hospitalization of those highest-risk patients an effective strategy for suicide prevention? What other adverse patient outcomes might we be missing by focusing solely on individuals’ suicide risk? Dr. Goldman-Mellor will explore these questions, and the implications of her findings for treatment models and suicide prevention programs in emergency care settings, drawing on her recent work using statewide emergency department data from California.

Speaker Biography - Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Ph.D., M.P.H.Program in Public Health; Director, HSRI Biostatistics and Data Support Center; University of California, Merced

Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of California, Merced. She previously received her doctoral degree in epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, subsequently completing an NICHD-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University. Trained as a psychiatric epidemiologist, Dr. Goldman-Mellor’s NIMH-funded research uses population-based longitudinal designs to understand the complex determinants and consequences of suicidal behavior and other mental health problems across the life-course.

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